India’s head coach Rahul Dravid has revealed the conversation that he had with Jasprit Burmah, before the pacer’s captaincy debut for India in the Test format. Bumrah is leading the Indian team in the fifth rescheduled Test match against England, which got underway today, July 1. The pacer was appointed the skipper after Rohit Sharma got ruled out of the series due to the covid-19 virus.
Jasprit Bumrah became the 36th player to lead India in Test cricket. Apart from his leadership, India will also want Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling to come to the fore in the match. Head Coach Rahul Dravid in his conversation with the 28-year-old, emphasized that India needs Bumrah, the bowler more than the captain.
In an interaction with Sony Sports, Rahul Dravid revealed about his talk with the newly appointed Indian skipper. He said,
“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him in the last few days to tell him to just relax. We need you more as a bowler rather than as a captain. I think he is a very thoughtful individual, who understands the game very well. Also, he commands the respect of the team, which is very important as a leader.”
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣. 🆕
Good luck, Jasprit Bumrah. 🤝#Edgbaston | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/klJ6OzAnWc
— Edgbaston Stadium (@Edgbaston) June 30, 2022
You’ll get better at captaincy, as you do it more: Rahul Dravid
Jasprit Bumrah became the sixth bowler to lead India in Test cricket, and the first pacer to do so if the all-rounder Kapil Dev is excluded. He joined a rare list of fast bowlers to lead at the International level. The head coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid also expressed that it’s not easy for fast bowlers to lead. He reasoned that the bowler has to plan his bowling and strategies.
Dravid further also added that captaincy gets better, the more one does it. He said,
“Bowling changes, field changes obviously will only get better with time. It’s a new challenge. It’s not easy for a fast bowler to captain, he’s got to think about his own bowling too. Captaincy is something that you’ll get better at as you do it more.”
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